Monday, March 21, 2011
Elections board makes 79-vote approval official in Monday meeting.
After all the huffing and puffing since last fall, Cobb County’s SPLOST election battle came to a quiet end this morning when the Board of Elections & Registration unanimously voted to certify the results of Tuesday’s voting. No one spoke during the public-comment period at the start of the 8 a.m. meeting at the West Park Government Center. No one from the anti-SPLOST side was there to protest. No one among the SPLOST supporters turned out to cheer. Unless someone chooses to contest the results in court within five days, Cobb County’s 1 percent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for capital expenses for transportation, public safety, and parks and recreation will continue through Dec. 31, 2015, instead of expiring at the end of this …
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Rounding up the main headlines from the past week in our community.
While being rejected by a tiny majority of voters in East Cobb, the 2011 Cobb SPLOST referendum barely passed in overall in the county, with a mere 79 votes to spare. That's not enough to trigger an automatic recall, and the Cobb Board of Elections is expected to certify the final vote on Monday. The four-year extension of the current penny sales tax is expected to collect an estimated $492 million from 2012-2015, including around $55 million to be used for transportation, facilities and parks and recreational improvements in East Cobb. * * * * * * An 86-year-old East Cobb woman who went missing from her home on Wednesday was discovered safe several hours later in Rockmart. Bettie Lee Holley, who suffers from Alzheimer's and dementia, …
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Only 9 of 27 East Cobb precincts voted "yes," but results at all polling stations close.
Although a majority of East Cobb voters cast ballots against the latest Cobb Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, it was a very slender majority. Results from Tuesday's referendum in 27 East Cobb precincts -- with only nine polling stations voting "yes" -- reflect the photo-finish nature of the referendum across the county. The single-issue special election approved four more years of collecting SPLOST revenues for transportation, recreation, public safety and related capital projects. An estimated $55 million of the $492 million to be collected through 2015 will be spent on improvements in East Cobb. A total of 11,001 East Cobbers went to the polls, with 5,379 voting in favor and 5,622 voting against. That margin, while a tight 51.1 …
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Unofficial final results give "yes" votes a 79-vote edge as county officials brace for a possible recount.
By a razor-thin margin, Cobb County voters on Tuesday approved a four-year, $492 million referendum that will extend the current Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax to pay for a wide range of transportation, facilities, public safety and parks and recreational improvements. But the vote might be heading for a recount. Final unofficial results tabulated by the Cobb Board of Elections showed that 21,525 votes were cast in favor of the SPLOST, or 50.09 percent of the vote, and 21,446 votes were opposed, or 49.91 percent, with all 153 Cobb precincts reporting. Those numbers include absentee ballots and the results of early voting. That's a difference of 79 votes, and typified the tight results that swung in either direction several times…
A sparse 10 percent turnout expected on a rainy day for voting.
Updated: 7:02 p.m. Cobb citizens have completed voting in the latest Cobb Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) referendum that would extend collection of the current penny sales tax through 2015. But rainy weather may have dampened an already-low estimate for voter turnout, according to Cobb Board of Elections director Janine Eveler. By late Tuesday morning, she said 10 percent of Cobb's 392,589 active registered voters were on track to go to the polls. "Things are a little slow, but they’re going well," she said. Eveler said some more voters might trickle in after work. The proposed four-year, $492 million extension of the SPLOST would fund a wide array of transportation and facilities improvements, including schools, …
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Referendum to extend penny sales tax slated for Tuesday as both sides rally voters.
Cobb County’s SPLOST special election set for Tuesday has drawn 6,522 votes so far, according to numbers the county released Friday evening. The 1 percent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax is the only item on the ballot. If the SPLOST passes, it will kick in Jan. 1, 2012, for four years and keep the overall sales tax in Cobb at 6 cents per dollar. If the referendum fails, the expiration of the current SPLOST Dec. 31 will result in a total sales tax of 5 percent in the county next year. Official figures show that 2,088 people voted from Feb. 21 to March 4 at the county Board of Elections & Registration at the West Park Government Center, 3,554 people voted in person this past week at the Board of Elections and five satellite locations…
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Plus a complete list of East Cobb voting precincts for Tuesday's referendum.
Advance voting is complete; all that's left now is Tuesday's referendum to decide whether the Cobb Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax will continue through 2015 or run out at the end of this year. According to the Cobb Board of Elections & Registration, 6,522 Cobb citizens took part in advance voting that ended Friday, with 220 additional mail ballots still unreturned. The proposed four-year, $492 million extension of the penny sales tax would fund a wide array of transportation and facilities improvements, including schools, public safety, parks and recreation and libraries. An estimated $55 million of the funding, if approved by voters, would be spent on projects in East Cobb. Groups supporting and opposed to the SPLOST extension …
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
A roundup of local government news in and near East Cobb.
1. The final week of early voting in the 2011 Cobb SPLOST referendum ends on Friday, and East Cobb voters now have the convenience of casting their ballots close to home. Early voting takes place all this week at the East Cobb Government Center, 4400 Lower Roswell Road. Voting hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is no voting on Monday, March 14. The official referendum vote is March 15. For more information, call 770-528-2581 or visit cobbelections.org. 2. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Monday that pro-SPLOST forces have raised nearly $233,000, largely from business interests, with nearly half of that coming from the Cumberland Community Improvement District. By comparison, anti-SPLOST groups have raised around $1,50o, …
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Local transportation and recreational improvements that would be funded if referendum passes.
Cobb voters have been casting early ballots in the 2011 SPLOST referendum, which will be decided on March 15. The proposed four-year, $492 million extension, if passed, would take effect in January 2012. Last week, supporters and opponents of the extension debated the issue during a forum sponsored by the Marietta-Cobb League of Women Voters. What follows is a list of East Cobb-specific projects -- totalling around $55 million -- that would be funded directly if the referendum passes. It does not include countywide transportation, recreation, facilities and public safety projects, nor does it list projects that need state or federal funding. The highlights of some of those projects are summarized near the bottom. Transportation projects…
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
News and events related to the local option sales tax referendum.
1. The central Cobb voter registration office is the location for early voting in the Cobb Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax referendum that began on Monday. Citizens may cast votes in person of the March 15 referendum Monday-Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday, March 11. The central voting office is located at 736 Whitlock Avenue, Suite 400, near downtown Marietta. 2. If you want some more information or wish to hear opposing sides in the SPLOST debate, the League of Women Voters of Marietta-Cobb is holding the only public forum on the issue Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting room, 100 Cherokee St., 2nd floor, downtown Marietta. The participants will be Lance Lamberton of the Cobb County …
Wendy Parker
12:32 pm on Thursday, March 17, 2011
Jamie, the votes in Sprayberry 01 were 125 yes, 236 against. Thanks for asking. more ›